Ch. 1111..1120

Chapter 1111 - 1111 – Tempering

"How many Star Gods does the Shining Purity Sect have?"

"Where are they normally located?"

"What Sects have you already taken down?"

Stella's questions became more and more personal and invasive, and the guy talking to Stella started to become uncomfortable.

Yes, he was interested in that beautiful woman, but he couldn't tell a stranger all of these sensitive things. Because of that, he always deflected when he answered the questions.

Was she here to spy on the Shining Purity Sect?

He didn't want to believe that, but he wasn't stupid.

Yes, he had been smitten by Stella, but he still was a Star God, and nearly no Star God was stupid.

Of course, if Stella had wanted to siphon information out of the Shining Purity Sect, she would have never done it this directly.

Asking these questions was like directly admitting that she was spying on them.

Eventually, the guy informed one of the Elders about Stella's questions with a sigh.

He knew that she would never leave this Sect again.

At the same time, the guy also felt a lot of pain.

He had been used.

Of course, Stella hadn't been informed of the fact that her guide had already ratted her out to his Sect.

They only continued walking through the Sect, but eventually, they arrived near the center of the Sect.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Five Star Gods appeared around Stella in nearly an instant, and they all glared at her.

SHING!

A powerful Ancestral God also appeared in front of Stella.

Stella immediately became shocked, and horror clouded her face.

WHOOOM!

A Formation Array that isolated every form of teleportation was activated.

As long as this Formation Array remained active, no one would be able to teleport.

"What's the meaning of this!?" Stella asked in rage and fear.

"You think your attempts of siphoning information out of the great Shining Purity Sect are able to hide in front of our eyes? Foolish!" the Ancestral God shouted.

The Ancestral God saw that Stella wanted to defend herself, but he didn't give her the chance.

"Win a fight, and we will let you live another day," the Ancestral God declared.

Stella didn't put up any pretenses, and her eyes narrowed.

"Who's my enemy?" she asked coldly.

The other people around her scoffed in disgust. This vile harpy had finally unveiled her true colors!

A level two Star God stepped forward. A radiant light of holiness shone around her as she looked at Stella with justified anger.

Stella took out her saber.

BOOOOM!

An explosion of fire appeared around her, making her body seem like it was burning.

The eyes of the people surrounding Stella narrowed further.

This was a powerful pressure!

This fight wouldn't be easy for the level two Star God.

However, this was exactly what they wanted.

They wanted to temper their disciples.

The two enemies looked at each other, and a Judge appeared in the air.

The Judge was supposed to protect the Sect while one of their disciples was fighting a stranger.

Judges only ignored the wellbeing of the Sects when they were embroiled in a war. However, this couldn't be called a war. It was simply one disciple fighting a stranger. Because of this, the Judge had to protect the Sect.

Stella and her enemy immediately clashed.

The fight had been brutal.

The level two Star God was no joke, and Stella definitely didn't have it easy.

However, in the end, Stella managed to win by unleashing all of her power in a single strike.

Stella had won!

The leaders of the Shining Purity Sect looked at this loss like it had nothing to do with them.

So what if their disciple died? The fact that their disciple died only showed that she had been worthless.

If their level two Star God had lost against a level one Star God, it meant that their level two Star God had never had the power of an actual level two Star God.

After this fight, Stella's Will-Aura increased to the third level of the Star God Realm. Her Will-Aura was now two levels above her own level. Now, she wouldn't even need to use her Law of Freedom to ignore the Will-Aura of her enemy.

WHOOOM!

A terrifying pressure suppressed Stella after her victory, and she looked at the Ancestral God with anger.

"You said you would let me go!" she shouted in anger.

"I said you get to live another day," the Ancestral God said coldly. "Tomorrow, your next fight will take place."

Stella seemingly exploded with anger, but there was nothing she could do.

A day quickly passed. Waiting for a day was nothing to such powerful Cultivators.

To them, waiting for a day was not any different from a mortal waiting for a couple minutes.

This time, Stella's opponent was the most powerful level two Star God in the Shining Purity Sect.

He was about to comprehend his second level seven Law.

The Sect had sent this disciple to fight Stella to kill her and to help this disciple awaken his second level seven Law.

Maybe this disciple would be more cooperative than the other one.

Just like the level four Star God, this level two Star God had a Will-Aura equivalent to the third level in the Star God Realm.

Stella was forced to use her Law of Freedom yet again.

This Star God could already attempt to jump a level. He wasn't fully there, but after comprehending another level seven Law, he would be able to fight level three Star Gods.

The fight was even more brutal than the first one.

However, when Stella was about to lose, she managed to comprehend the level six Law of Zero, which she immediately used with her Weapon Technique.

Yet, just when Stella was about to win, her enemy comprehended another level seven Law!

Stella was about to die again!

BOOOOM!

And then, Stella comprehended the level six Law of Cold!

The addition of another level six Law shouldn't have made a difference, but Stella managed to add the upgraded version of the Law of Cold to her Avatar of the Dead World.

The Law of the Dead World also used the Law of Temperatures. However, the Major Law of Temperatures was just another level five Law, and there was a limit to how far level five Laws could be pushed.

By adding the level six Law of Cold, Stella's Law of Cold reached the power of a level eight Law without using a Weapon Technique!

Stella unleashed half her remaining Energy in a cold blast and managed to freeze her enemy.

Then, Stella closed her eyes and struck down.

She hadn't been able to use her new attack yet since it required a bit of preparation. After all, she wasn't really familiar with that attack.

Time, space, and gravity warped and split apart as Stella bisected her enemy.

It was a simplified version of Exar's Weapon Technique.

With the Law of the Dead World, Stella now also had access to the Law of Primordial Forces. She had seen that Exar had been far more used to fighting with the Law of the Dead World, and Stella had asked him for a short lesson.

After just a bit, Stella understood the principles behind the attack. After all, she already knew all the relevant Laws.

She wouldn't be able to unleash Exar's technique with as much power, but it was still incredibly powerful.

Her opponent had been prepared for more elemental attacks, and he had created several different forms of shields to cancel her Elements.

However, because of that, he had been completely unprepared for an attack with the Law of Primordial Forces.

Stella had won, and this time, the leaders of the Shining Purity Sect no longer watched on neutrally.

This time, they gritted their teeth in hatred and frustration.

They had just lost their most powerful level two Star God!

Even more, he had even managed to comprehend a second level seven Law!

How powerful was this level one Star God!?

Stella's Will-Aura increased to the fourth level of the Star God Realm.

Now, she could attempt to fight an average level three Star God.

With her Will-Aura, Stella was now probably also the strongest Star God in the Myriad Sect.

A long period of silence took place.

"Call Austin," the Sect Master told one of the Elders.

The Elder nodded. "We have lost out this time, and we have created a far too powerful Star God. If she increases her Realm, she can endanger Austin. We must end her right now. I would do it myself, but I can't sacrifice so much Karmic Luck."

The Elder called the level four Star God, Austin.

Chapter 1112 - 1112 – Destroying A Sect

A young man with white hair and white eyes walked out of the central palace of the Shining Purity Sect.

His eyes were calm like the deep ocean, and it seemed like nothing could shake him.

This was someone that had created his own conviction.

He was the polar opposite of the Shining Radiance Sect. While the Shining Radiance Sect put up a holy front, this person seemed distant from everything.

He was not a person that talked a lot, but he would always show his loyalty with his actions.

He was not a fan of the current leadership of the Shining Purity Sect. The leadership wanted to sacrifice his future for their gain.

However, this wasn't important to him.

The Shining Purity Sect had allowed him to become powerful, and he would help them as long as they didn't threaten his future.

Because of that, he had adamantly refused to become a level five Star God. He hadn't even wanted to become a level four Star God yet, but after a lot of persuasion, he had given his Sect at least that.

After all, he didn't want to be helpless when an enemy was threatening his home.

All of this was for protecting the Shining Purity Sect.

Stella looked at Austin with cold eyes.

She didn't seem nervous.

Instead, fierce battle-intent raged in her eyes.

Austin stopped in front of Stella and neutrally looked at Stella.

"I don't want to kill you, but I need to defend my Sect. I don't expect you to forgive me. However, I can offer you peace of mind," he slowly said.

Stella didn't react to his words.

"What's your name, and from which Sect are you? I will protect your Sect from any unjust actions. If the Shining Purity Sect ever wages war with your Sect, I will do my best to make the resolution as peaceful as possible," he said.

Stella was surprised by his words.

He hadn't activated any kind of Law while saying these words, but she somehow knew that he was honest.

He didn't want to kill her. However, he also couldn't put his Sect at risk.

Because of that, he tried to make it as easy as possible for Stella.

In a sense, he was a good person.

Sadly, he belonged to the wrong power.

"Stella, Myriad Sect," Stella said slowly.

The leadership of the Shining Purity Sect didn't like that Austin was making promises without having the authority, but there was nothing much they could do.

They knew that Austin was fiercely loyal. They genuinely liked and supported him. Their differing opinions didn't stop that.

Austin nodded. "I will do my best to protect the Myriad Sect. You can go in peace," he said.

Stella smiled in peace.

"Can you at least kill me with your strongest attack? I want it to be quick, and I want to feel the extent of your power before I die," she said.

Austin nodded.

Then, Austin slowly took out his spear.

Whoooom!

Austin's spear started to shine in pure white and pure black.

Austin had comprehended the level seven True Law of Twilight. The True Law of Twilight was a mix of the Law of Purity and the Law of Stygian, the level six Law of Darkness.

It was a True Mixed Element.

CRRRR!

Suddenly, the light and dark aspects of his spear ground at each other. This slightly damaged his spear, but it increased the explosive power manifold.

This was the level seven Law of True Twilight's Explosiveness, a Battle-Law.

This guy had two very powerful level seven Laws, and he definitely was not a joke.

If Austin were a level two Star God, he could fight Stella equally.

Austin pulled his spear back and struck forward.

The black and white light crashed against each other as they closed in on Stella.

Stella only neutrally looked at the attack.

Then, the attack hit.

And this was the moment that would spell the doom of the Shining Purity Sect.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The attack exploded with apocalyptic power.

Its destructive powers stretched for nearly 100,000 kilometers.

The eyes of the leaders opened wide in terror and shock.

Where was the Judge!?

Why was there no Judge!?

Yet, it was already too late.

The attack decimated the entire Shining Purity Sect.

All the Peak Immortal Emperors and level one Star Gods died in the attack.

Only the Peak Immortal Emperors and level one Star Gods that were currently out on missions had survived.

The buildings were destroyed.

The mountains were destroyed.

The Shining Purity Sect was destroyed.

The attack slowly vanished.

Silence.

Austin, the leaders, and one heavily injured level two Star God looked at the crater below them.

There was nothing left.

Desolation.

Destruction.

Even the Formation Arrays were destroyed since they hadn't been activated previously.

Over 500,000 Cultivators had died.

For a long time, the survivors were only in shock.

A couple million kilometers away, Gravis snickered.

Stella only sighed.

She found Gravis' actions a bit extreme.

Why?

Was it because of the Shining Purity Sect?

No.

It was because there was no tempering left anymore.

The Shining Purity Sect only had one level four Star God, one level two Star God, and three level one Star Gods left. The three level one Star Gods were currently not inside the "Sect".

What had Gravis done?

He used his Law of Perceived Reality, of course.

Stella had gotten her two fights, and then, Gravis had silently replaced her.

Gravis had made it appear like Stella had remained on her spot when, in reality, Stella had been on her way to Gravis.

As soon as the Shining Purity Sect had summoned Austin, Gravis' imitation of Stella had replaced her.

However, this wasn't everything.

Gravis had kept one of the level two Star Gods in a perpetual illusion for the last day.

In his mind, Stella would be fighting against him tomorrow, and this would be her only fight.

So, this level two Star God had only waited for his fight with Stella.

Since he hadn't seen Stella fight previously, he hadn't been very nervous.

And just when Stella was replaced by her imitation, this Star God walked forward and took Stella's place.

It was his time to fight!

In his mind, Stella stood in front of him.

Of course, the Stella he saw had been Austin.

The Star God had only waited for the start signal of the Sect Master.

However, before the Star God could react, the Stella in his perception had unleashed an apocalyptic attack.

So, without knowing it, Austin had annihilated a level two Star God of his own Sect.

And the Judge?

Judges wouldn't get involved in a fight between fellow disciples.

This was a Sect affair. The two disciples belonged to the same Sect, and they were fighting inside the Sect. Additionally, there were several Ancestral Gods in that Sect.

This had nothing to do with The Heaven Company.

They couldn't send a Judge for internal strife inside a Sect.

Sects were seen as their own entities in the eyes of The Heaven Company.

If one member of the Sect decided to destroy their Sect, it would be like someone committing suicide.

A level four Star God of the Shining Purity Sect had attacked a level two Star God of the Shining Purity Sect inside the Shining Purity Sect.

The Heaven Company wouldn't get involved.

Of course, as a Judge, Gravis knew the rules of The Heaven Company very well.

Gravis was not officially a member of the Myriad Sect. Because of that, if an Ancestral God was willing to make the sacrifice, they were allowed to attack him.

The only reason why no Ancestral Gods were attacking the Myriad Sect was because of the Eternal Fire Sect.

Ancestral Gods were forbidden from taking part in the wars.

Because of that, Gravis couldn't just go into the Shining Purity Sect and kill everyone himself.

If Gravis were part of the Myriad Sect, he could just waltz into the Shining Purity Sect, execute every Star God, spit the Ancestral Gods in the face, and then leave.

They wouldn't dare to kill a Star God of a subservient Sect of the Eternal Fire Sect.

However, Gravis wasn't.

Because of that, he had to become creative.

Now, the question was, why wasn't Gravis part of the Myriad Sect?

One reason.

Karmic Luck.

Right now, the Karmic Luck of the Myriad Sect was very powerful, but what if he joined?

Gravis' negative Karmic Luck could put the entire Sect in danger.

Of course, in return, Gravis would actually gain Karmic Luck!

However, the decision was obvious. Gravis wouldn't put his friends in danger.

After looking at the destruction, Gravis turned to Stella with a smirk.

"I told them about the Myriad Sect. Who knows, maybe they will attack us?"

Chapter 1113 - 1113 – The Silent Dispersal Of The Shining Purity Sect

Gravis and Stella traveled back to the Myriad Sect to prepare for every eventuality. Chances were high that the remaining two members of the Shining Purity Sect would attack them soon. However, even if they did, they wouldn't be a real danger.

The Myriad Sect had already won the war before it had even started.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Shining Purity Sect were trying to come to terms with their new reality.

They only had three Ancestral Gods, one level four Star God, and one level two Star God left. Sure, there were also some level one Star Gods outside on missions, but they wouldn't make a difference.

All the other Sects had several level two Star Gods.

The entirety of their power and future now solely relied on Austin.

"If you had simply accepted to become a level five Star God, nothing like this would have happened!" One of the Vice-Sect Masters shouted while pointing an accusatory finger at Austin. "We would have already conquered all the other Sects by now!"

Austin looked with even eyes at the Vice-Sect Master.

However, even though Austin appeared calm on the outside, he was the one that had been most shaken by the event.

He had destroyed his Sect.

"Stop trying to find someone to blame!" the actual Sect Master shouted at the Vice-Sect Master. "If that girl hasn't lied, she came from a new Sect, the Myriad Sect. They should have arrived only recently. They should have overtaken the territory of our neighbors."

"But if he had just-"

"And then what!?" the Sect Master answered with fury. "Then even our last remaining level two Star God would have been destroyed! This would have made things only worse!"

The Vice-Sect Master only grew angrier. "But if he had more power, he might have been able to see through whatever illusion had been put up! I've seen it near the end! He has attacked someone from our own Sect! That was also why there was no Judge!"

"And you think that would have made a difference?" the other Vice-Sect Master asked with a scoff. "Not even we have been able to see through the illusion. We three are all Ancestral Gods, and we haven't noticed anything! Don't try to blame Austin for our own shortcomings! The demise of the Shining Purity Sect is our fault."

The first Vice-Sect Master gritted his teeth.

However, instead of arguing, he looked to the side with a bitter expression.

He had realized that he couldn't blame this on Austin.

This was on them.

Silence.

The silence dragged on for minutes.

Everything they had worked for had been destroyed in a single day. They had built up the Shining Purity Sect for over 500,000 years!

Now, everything was gone.

This was the destructive effect that Star Gods had on their environments.

Without The Heaven Company or someone more powerful overlooking a fight, entire Sects would be decimated by a single attack.

It just needed a single slip-up for an entire Sect to be destroyed.

"What now?" the second Vice-Sect Master asked the Sect Master. "What do we do now?"

The Sect Master remained silent for a while.

Then, he sighed.

"What is there to do?" he asked helplessly. "All our Karmic Luck has been depleted. The gathered Karmic Luck of 500,000 disciples has been evaporated."

The two Vice-Sect Masters grimaced.

"Could we build a new Sect?" one of them asked.

"Do you have the time?" the Sect Master asked.

Silence.

"No," the Sect Master answered.

"This time, we lost thoroughly," the Sect Master said with regret. "Our work has been destroyed. We can't join the Eternal Fire Sect as Elders-In-Training anymore. If we want to join the Eternal Fire Sect, we have to enter as Inner Disciples."

The two Vice-Sect Masters didn't answer.

Entering as Inner Disciples?

Chances were high that they wouldn't be able to survive.

Why was Karmic Luck so important to get a good position in the Eternal Fire Sect?

The reason was that these three Ancestral Gods only had average Battle-Strength. If they could jump a level, it wouldn't be an issue to become an Elder in the Eternal Fire Sect in the future.

Sadly, they couldn't jump levels.

So, that only left two other methods to become a powerful member of the Eternal Fire Sect.

One of the methods was God Stones.

If they paid enough God Stones, they would be able to buy their way into a good position where they wouldn't have to constantly fear other powerful disciples.

However, the amount of wealth was insane.

In fact, one person needed ten God Crystals.

God Crystals, not God Stones.

What was a God Crystal?

One God Crystal had the amount of Energy of one billion God Stones. However, that wasn't everything.

It needed a Divine God that knew the True Law of Matter, a level nine Law, to combine the one billion God Stones into a God Crystal.

One God Crystal was often sold for two billion God Stones precisely due to that.

What was the use of a God Crystal?

They could either be absorbed incredibly fast, or they could be used to create powerful Virtualization Arrays.

High-Grade Sects often traded Law Comprehension Areas. Yet, instead of straight-up handing them over, they infused their God Crystals with the Laws of the Law Comprehension Area.

Then, they could hand over that God Crystal to the other Sect. This would allow them to lease out a Law Comprehension Area safely. They wouldn't need to fear a sudden attack. They didn't even need to show the locations of their Law Comprehension Areas.

The Eternal Fire Sect had no issues with giving someone a good position if they could pay ten God Crystals.

That was worth far more than some position.

Sadly, it was very difficult for early Ancestral Gods to get their hands on God Crystals.

The three of them couldn't possibly pay that.

So, that only left the second method.

Karmic Luck.

Karmic Luck was incredibly important for the war between Sects. If one Sect had more Karmic Luck, they would sometimes be informed about an upcoming ambush by coincidence. Their own ambushes would also succeed more frequently.

In an even fight, their own fighters would probably win due to luck.

If one Sect was more powerful than the other Sect, Karmic Luck wouldn't make a difference. However, if they were about equal in power, Karmic Luck could decide everything.

So, where did the Sects get their Karmic Luck from?

From disciples.

Teaching a disciple would increase one's Karmic Luck. The more outstanding the disciple, the more Karmic Luck the teacher would get.

Another method was to get more disciples in one's organization. Part of the Karmic Luck of the disciples would gather in the Sect, and the Sect would have the effects of Karmic Luck.

500,000 disciples with over 20 Star Gods had already created a terrifying amount of Karmic Luck for the Shining Purity Sect.

Sadly, even that ridiculous amount of Karmic Luck wasn't enough to buy one's way into the Eternal Fire Sect. After all, in comparison to the entire Eternal Fire Sect, some 20 Star Gods were nothing. The Eternal Fire Sect had hundreds of Ancestral Gods and millions upon millions of disciples.

This was where the Sect wars came into play in this area.

This wasn't an annihilation war in which every living being of the other Sect would be eradicated.

No, the survivors would simply join the other Sect.

As long as the war was won by one side, they would put the survivors of the other Sect before a choice.

Submit or die.

If they decided to submit, they had to sign a contract that forced them to remain in the new Sect for 20% of their longevity.

In that time, the new disciples would be treated very, very well.

Because of that, when the mandatory time was up, most of the disciples would simply decide to stay in their new Sect.

Peak Immortal Emperors would have already remained in the new Sect for 40,000 years, and it was basically their new home by now.

So, when one Sect consumed all the other Sects in the surroundings, they would have hundreds of Star Gods and millions of Peak Immortal Emperors.

On top of that, the Ancestral Gods often also joined the other Sect to take a piece of the pie.

However, negotiations for Ancestral Gods were far different from the negotiations for Star Gods or Immortal Emperors.

Star Gods and Immortal Emperors would get lots of enticements to join the winning Sect.

Yet, for Ancestral Gods, it was the opposite.

The Ancestral Gods of the winning Sect would enter the Eternal Fire Sect with good positions. However, depending on the amount of Karmic Luck, the things they would get might become better or worse.

This meant that every additional Ancestral God would decrease the reward for the other Ancestral Gods.

Because of that, the Ancestral Gods of the losing Sect would either need to abandon their Sect, going home with nothing, or pay their way into the other Sect.

So, because of all of these reasons, the three Ancestral Gods of the former Shining Purity Sect had essentially gotten the shaft.

They had lost the game.

They only had a couple of options.

Pay to join another Sect.

Create a new Sect.

Join the Eternal Fire Sect as Inner Disciples.

Don't join the Eternal Fire Sect and simply do whatever.

These were all the options.

Gravis had worried for nothing.

The three Ancestral Gods hadn't even considered attacking the Myriad Sect.

Why would they?

They wouldn't gain anything.

The Myriad Sect had destroyed their entire Sect, which was about as direct of a declaration of war as it got.

They were probably certain that the Shining Purity Sect would attack them, and they probably also knew that Austin was an incredibly powerful Star God.

This meant that the Myriad Sect was confident in being able to deal with Austin.

The Ancestral Gods knew that if they attacked the Myriad Sect, they would only lose even more.

There was no point in attacking the Myriad Sect.

After some talking, the Sect Master decided to join the Eternal Fire Sect as an Inner Disciple.

The Vice-Sect Masters decided to go their own way.

Austin followed the Sect Master to the Eternal Fire Sect, and he would join them as a normal disciple.

The remaining level two Star God was left behind.

She was alone now.

In the end, she sighed.

'Maybe I should just join the Myriad Sect,' she thought. 'It's better than to directly join the Eternal Fire Sect.'

And with that, the entire debacle with the Shining Purity Sect had ended.

Gravis had destroyed an entire Sect without even entering it or attacking it.

Gravis had simply played them to death.

Chapter 1114 - 1114 – World Breaking Down

As Gravis and Stella flew back to the Myriad Sect, Stella kept glancing at Gravis strangely.

Gravis had noticed that Stella had glanced at him a couple of times, and he became a bit confused.

"What's up?" Gravis asks.

"I don't know," Stella said.

"You don't know?" Gravis repeated with a chuckle.

"I'm not sure, but you somehow feel a bit different," Stella said.

"Different?" Gravis asked. "In what way?"

"I don't know," Stella answered. "Something on you has changed, but I can't put my finger on it."

Gravis raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Gravis looked at himself and saw no difference.

He wore the same clothes, he knew the same Laws, oh!

"Oh, because I'm a Star God now?" Gravis asked with a smirk.

Surprisingly, Stella shook her head.

"That's not it," she said. "You seemed normal when you came to get me, but ever since we started going back to the Myriad Sect, you somehow feel different."

"Different in what sense?" Gravis asked. "It's hard to find out what you mean when you can't give me a better description about whatever feels off with me."

Stella looked at Gravis with concern for a bit.

"I don't know. It somehow feels like I should not be with you," she said.

Gravis' body shuddered, but then, he chuckled. "Don't joke about something like that, Stella."

"I'm not joking," Stella said with an uncomfortable expression. "Of course, I still love you and everything, and our relationship hasn't changed. However, something is telling me that I shouldn't be close to you. It's not about an emotional closeness, but more of a physical one."

"It's like something is telling me that I should not be near your vicinity."

Stella looked at the ground.

"Even my Law of Danger is slightly acting up."

All forms of positive emotions left Gravis.

Everything up to now could have just been assigned to Stella's imagination.

However, if even her Law of Danger had been triggered, something must be wrong.

Yet, no matter what Gravis did, he couldn't find what Stella meant.

Gravis didn't feel any different from normal.

However, Gravis trusted Stella's intuition.

"Father, is something wrong with me?" he asked.

"Yes," his father answered without appearing.

Gravis' eyes widened in horror.

Something was wrong with him!?

"What's wrong with me?" Gravis asked.

"You will be informed by two people shortly."

Gravis became nervous.

"Can't you just tell me directly!?" Gravis asked.

"Depending on your viewpoint, it could be something good or something bad. However, until this situation is resolved, you can't come near Opposer City. If you do, you will die," the Opposer answered.

"Forbidden from entering my home!? Why!?" Gravis shouted.

His father didn't answer.

"What's going on?" Stella asked Gravis nervously.

"Father said that something is wrong with me, and he also said that I'm forbidden from going to Opposer City," Gravis said.

Stella's eyes widened in horror.

Why!?

What was going on!?

Suddenly, Gravis stopped.

Then, he took out an emblem.

This was the emblem that showed his position as a Judge of The Heaven Company, and it had suddenly started acting up.

Usually, if Gravis had to do his job, he would receive a new Emblem.

Yet, his own emblem was suddenly starting to shine in an alarming red.

"What?" Gravis asked.

SHING!

Suddenly, someone appeared in front of Gravis.

It was Eve, his boss!

Eve looked at Gravis evenly.

Then, Gravis' emblem floated over to Eve, and she pocketed it.

"What's going on!?" Gravis shouted with annoyance.

He wanted answers!

Eve looked at Gravis with a bit of concern, but there was also a cold light in her eyes.

"Your services are no longer required," she said directly.

Gravis' and Stella's eyes opened wide in shock.

"I'm fired!?" Gravis shouted. "Why!?"

Eve looked coldly at Gravis.

"You know what you have done. If you manage to survive, you can join The Heaven Company again," she said.

"What!?" Gravis shouted.

SHING!

However, Eve teleported away.

Gravis wanted to ask her about what was going on, but Eve had already left Gravis' Spirit Sense.

Gravis and Stella looked at each other with concern.

They tried to find out what was going on, but they couldn't find an answer.

Eventually, they continued to the Myriad Sect. Maybe someone in the Myriad Sect had an answer. If not, they could send someone to get the answer.

Some minutes later, Gravis and Stella arrived at the Myriad Sect.

WHOOOOOM!

However, the two of them were suddenly stopped outside the Sect as an unknown Formation Array was activated.

Stella knew the Formation Arrays the Myriad Sect owned, but this Formation Array was unknown to her.

What was going on!?

Why was the Myriad Sect stopping the two of them from entering?

Inside the Myriad Sect, Manuel and the others came out of their buildings.

"Who activated this Formation Array!?" Manuel shouted with anger. "I have ordered no such thing!"

Yet, every single person in the Myriad Sect only looked with horror and confusion at their Sect Master.

No one had activated it.

Manuel gritted his teeth when he saw that no one answered. "For now, it's not important who activated it. Someone deactivate it!"

The Formation Array experts of the Myriad Sect checked the Formation Arrays, and while doing so, they found an unknown Formation Array.

If it hadn't been activated, they would have never noticed it!

Manuel heard the report, and he became furious.

Why was there an unknown Formation Array inside his own Sect!?

"Destroy it!" Manuel ordered.

WHOOOOM!

However, everything halted as an Ancestral God arrived above the Myriad Sect.

He had activated his Will-Aura and made it impossible for anyone to move.

"The Formation Array is for your own protection," the Ancestral God said to Manuel.

Manuel noticed the get-up of the Ancestral God and knew that this Ancestral God was one of the Elders of the Eternal Fire Sect.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Manuel shouted. "You said this Sect was supposed to belong to us!"

"And it does," the Ancestral God answered calmly. "I want you to realize that we are helping you survive a crisis right now. We could have also just looked on as your Sect was turned to dust."

"Turned to dust?" Manuel shouted in shock.

Gravis also heard everything, and his nervousness rose.

Even an Ancestral God became involved!?

First, his father had told him that something was wrong with him.

Then, The Heaven Company had fired him and told him that he could return if he managed to survive.

And now, an Ancestral God of the Eternal Fire Sect was stopping him from entering the Myriad Sect!

"What the fuck is going on!?" Gravis shouted with all of his power.

He had enough of this!

He wanted to know what the fuck was going on!

The Elder looked at Gravis coldly.

However, when he noticed that Gravis was genuinely upset and confused, a look of pity replaced his cold gaze.

"You have condensed a Sin Aura," he answered.

"Sin Aura!?" Gravis and Stella shouted in shock.

However, when Manuel and Styr heard the Elder's words, a look of horror appeared on their faces.

Manuel quickly gritted his teeth.

"Gravis, you have to leave!" he shouted, his voice shaking.

"You can't return to the Myriad Sect!"

"Every member of the Myriad Sect is forbidden from interacting with Gravis from this moment forth!"

Gravis' world broke down.

Chapter 1115 - 1115 – Sin Aura

Gravis almost thought he hadn't heard Manuel's words correctly.

Cut off all contact with Gravis?

Why!?

"Manuel," Gravis said slowly.

"I have to!" Manuel shouted with gritted teeth. "I can't sacrifice the Myriad Sect for a meaningless show of loyalty. The entire Myriad Sect wouldn't be able to help you, and we would only die. I'm doing this, so you have someone to return to when all of this is over!"

Stella looked with horror at the Myriad Sect and with fear at Gravis.

Leave Gravis?

Never!

"What is a Sin Aura? How did I condense one?" Gravis asked with clenched fists.

The Elder from the Eternal Fire Sect looked at Gravis coldly.

"Have you recently killed a great number of weaker Cultivators?"

Gravis' mind immediately went to the Shining Purity Sect.

Gravis' face became white as he realized that he had done exactly that.

How had things suddenly changed in this way? He was used to doing stuff like this, and it didn't feel any different from what he had done in the past.

How had that suddenly become a problem?

The Elder noticed Gravis' expression, and he knew that Gravis had done just that.

The Elder took out an emblem and looked at it for a while. After a short time, his brows furrowed.

"The Shining Purity Sect," he said.

"It doesn't exist anymore."

When the Myriad Sect heard that, they all fell silent.

Hearing these words only increased their frustration and helplessness.

Gravis had destroyed one of their enemies, which meant that Gravis had done these things for them.

Gravis took a deep breath as he looked at the Elder from the Eternal Fire Sect. "What am I supposed to do now?"

The Elder coldly looked at Gravis.

"Do you know what a Sin Aura is?" he asked.

Gravis shook his head.

"A Sin Aura is when you go far below zero Karmic Luck. Senseless slaughter decreases your Karmic Luck, and if you do enough of it, you will condense a Sin Aura. When that happens, you will be hunted by the Sin Monsters," the Elder explained.

For some reason, the word Sin Monsters felt weird to Gravis.

The word monster was rarely used, and when it was used, it was when someone referred to someone that acted incredibly cold-hearted. The mortal definition of the word monster didn't really exist in the world of Cultivation.

Mortals often used the word monster to refer to a very powerful beast. Of course, for Cultivators, a beast was just a beast. There was no reason to refer to them as monsters.

"What is a Sin Monster?" Gravis asked.

"Sin Monsters are beings of unknown origins," the Elder from the Eternal Fire Sect said. "We believe that they have been created by Heaven to punish the Cultivators that commit senseless slaughter. They are different from Beasts and humans, and not much is known about them."

"And I will be hunted by them?" Gravis asked.

"Yes," the Elder answered. "We don't know much about them, but we think they will start hunting you soon."

"And I have to kill them?" Gravis asked.

"You can't kill them," the Elder said. "They are far beyond your power, and you will be helpless in front of them."

"Even Divine Gods fear them."

Gravis felt like the world around him had transformed into an ominous black.

Gravis looked to the floor. "So, I will die soon?" he asked.

"We don't know," the Elder said. "We have heard of Cultivators that managed to get rid of their Sin Aura a couple thousand years later. Not much is known about Sin Auras."

Gravis only remained silent as he looked into the distance.

Stella looked with pain at Gravis.

"Why can't I come into contact with my friends and family?" Gravis asked calmly. Now was not the time to despair.

"The Sin Monsters will kill every living being around you, and whatever they kill will reduce your Karmic Luck even further," the Elder said.

"What bullshit is this!?" Gravis shouted. "They kill someone, and it's my fault!?"

"These are the rules of Heaven," the Elder said. "There's nothing you can do about them."

Gravis gritted his teeth.

This felt so very similar to his time in the lower world.

Gravis was forbidden from interacting or getting close to anyone, or they would die.

What irony. The very thing he had been freed from when he had been weak was now haunting him again when he had reached incredible power.

Gravis wanted to feel like he had been unjustly targeted, but it just wasn't true.

Gravis wanted to feel like it wasn't his fault, but he knew that it was his fault, this time. Back in the lower world, Gravis had been targeted for no reason. Heaven had just directly gone after him.

However, now, Gravis was being targeted because he had killed so many Cultivators. In essence, this was not a superior making his life hard but a form of punishment for what he had done.

Gravis hadn't even thought about what he had done while doing it. He was used to killing large swathes of living beings just by existing, and he hadn't questioned his own actions while doing so.

It was just normal.

After he had destroyed the Shining Purity Sect, he had even snickered.

This was how used he was to the destruction of lives.

Who would have thought that everything Gravis had thought as normal turned out to throw him into an abyss of uncertainty for the future?

"How do I get rid of the Sin Aura?" Gravis asked.

"We don't know," the Elder said.

"You don't know?" Gravis asked.

"No, not much is known of Sin Auras. We only know that most Cultivators that condense them vanish, while some of them manage to survive."

Gravis gritted his teeth more.

The Elder didn't know what Gravis had to do.

"One more thing," the Elder suddenly said.

Gravis looked at the Elder.

"When a Cultivator kills someone with a Sin Aura, the Cultivator will not be punished. The reason for the killing is irrelevant," the Elder said.

Silence.

"You're saying that Ancestral Gods and Divine Gods can just kill me?" Gravis asked in shock.

"Yes," the Elder said. "If I were to kill you right now, I would receive all your wealth without having to pay anything."

"Right now, you are only alive because you are a friend of one of our subservient Sects."

"However, keep in mind that not everyone is like me. As a Star God, you probably have several million God Stones, many weapons, and many resources in your Spirit Space."

"If you could earn a couple million God Stones with a mere snip of your fingers, would you do it?" the Elder asked.

Silence.

Would Gravis do it?

It probably depended on his financial situation.

If he had enough money on him, he would ignore a Cultivator with a Sin Aura.

However, if Gravis needed God Stones, he would have no problems in killing someone to get money.

'If an Ancestral God or Divine God senses me…'

Gravis wouldn't even know how he had died.

With but a snip of their finger, any more powerful Cultivator could end Gravis' life.

Nothing was stopping them.

"Say your goodbyes.. Every additional second you're here only puts the Myriad Sect under more danger," the Elder said.

Chapter 1116 - 1116 – What Do I Do?

A proverbial, oppressive dark cloud hung over Gravis.

He couldn't come into contact with any of the people he liked until the problem had been resolved.

It was like Gravis was cut off from everyone again.

Luckily, this time, Gravis knew that he had a chance to fix the problem. After all, there have been cases of people being able to survive having a Sin Aura.

"Gravis," Stella said urgently. "You should ask Arc if he knows what you need to do!"

Gravis' eyes widened.

Right, he should ask Arc!

Why hadn't he thought of that earlier?

Gravis quickly got out his new communication ring and contacted Arc.

"Arc, I condensed a Sin Aura," Gravis said.

"What's that?" Arc answered.

Gravis was taken aback.

Arc didn't know what that was?

However, Gravis knew that Arc's knowledge and experience were still invaluable. Even if he didn't know what a Sin Aura was, he knew the way Orthar worked far better than Gravis in certain aspects.

Maybe, he could deduce the answer.

Gravis explained the concept of a Sin Aura to Arc.

"I can think of two ways to solve this issue," Arc said.

Gravis was pleasantly surprised. Arc said that he knew two ways to solve this issue.

"What are they?" Gravis asked.

"My Creator never does things without reason or gain. If he wants such Cultivators to die, he would simply kill them directly. He wouldn't need something like Sin Monsters. Even more, if he wanted to kill these people, he wouldn't give them the chance to do more damage before the Sin Monsters arrive."

"This means that the goal of the Sin Monsters isn't to kill you but to force you to pay for your mistakes. I'm not talking about some form of emotional relief when I talk about pay, but about literally paying the world back."

"Gravis, think about what your actions have cost the world and my Creator. What have they lost?" Arc asked.

Gravis knew the answer. "Energy and Karmic Luck," he answered.

"Half-right," Arc answered. "Karmic Luck is simply a method to show how effective you have been at gathering Energy. You gain Karmic Luck by helping people become stronger, which makes them gather more Energy."

"Creating an organization gives the disciples in the organization greater safety and more access to Laws, which will accelerate their growth and will even result in them becoming more powerful than they would have ever become on their own."

"A personal disciple is the same thing. If you take in a mortal as a disciple, and they become a Law Comprehension Cultivator, they would have gathered a lifetime's worth of Energy of a Law Comprehension Cultivator. Without you, they would have died as mortals and would have gathered nearly no Energy."

"You, yourself, obviously don't count in that. After all, everyone strives for power."

"So, to get rid of your Sin Aura, you need to repay what you owe. You damaged something, and now you need to pay for it. Whom have you killed?"

Gravis' expression became bitter.

"About 20 Star Gods and 500,000 Peak Immortal Emperors," Gravis answered.

Silence.

"That's bad," Arc answered.

"It is," Gravis answered.

"In essence, you need to gather Karmic Luck and Energy until all of this has been paid back. However, paying all of this back will be very, very difficult."

"There are three things that you have to pay back."

"The first thing is the Energy of the Star Gods. One level one Star God should be worth around one million God Stones. A level two Star God should be worth four million God Stones. How many God Stones do you owe for the Star Gods?" Arc asked.

Gravis did some calculations. "Stella killed two level two Star Gods, but those were normal fights, and those two fights shouldn't have involved me. So, in essence, I'm responsible for the death of one or two level two Star Gods and about 15 or so level one Star Gods. At most, it should be 23 million God Stones."

"Alright. Then, the 500,000 Peak Immortal Emperors," Arc said.

Gravis took a deep breath.

That number would be far bigger.

"One Peak Immortal Emperor should be worth around 4,000 God Stones. 4,000 times 500,000 is two billion God Stones. That's a lot of money," Arc said.

Gravis took a deep breath.

The 20 million God Stones of the Star Gods didn't even make a dent in this massive number. Gravis could essentially ignore it.

Two billion God Stones.

If Gravis exchanged all his contribution points in The Heaven Company for God Stones, he might be able to get another 50 million God Stones, but even that wouldn't make a dent in his debt.

If Gravis wanted to pay back the debt, he would have to work in The Heaven Company for nearly a million years!

Gravis guessed that he would have been killed by the Sin Monsters before that.

"Now, for the most significant debt," Arc said.

Gravis was taken aback, and a cold shudder ran down his spine.

"What?" Gravis asked.

"You killed about 20 Star Gods, Gravis," Arc answered. "There is something else that you owe. You know, that thing that I don't want to mention for fear of retribution."

For a moment, Gravis wasn't sure what Arc was referring to, but when he felt an apocalyptic, invisible pressure, he knew exactly what Arc was talking about.

Gravis knew this pressure. This pressure came from Orthar.

It was to warn him.

This pressure meant that Gravis should choose his words very carefully.

The Brand!

Gravis had to repay the Brand!

Gravis looked at the communication ring with a crestfallen expression.

"How much is it?" Gravis asked.

"It should be one Ancestral God's worth of Energy per Star God," Arc answered.

Silence.

"It should be about two billion God Stones per Ancestral God," Arc added.

Silence.

Gravis just couldn't react.

How was he supposed to pay back over 40 billion God Stones!?

Gravis' mind went through all kinds of jobs.

The Heaven Company?

Gravis would be working for several times his longevity!

The Information Pavilion?

That would still be over a million years!

World Weapons?

Sure, if Gravis had infinite customers, he could pay that off rather quickly, but that was not how the world worked!

Ironically, it was far easier for Star Gods to get their hands on World Weapons than for Immortals.

Not many people knew the level four Law of the Dead World, but many Ancestral Gods and Divine Gods knew the level seven Law of the Dead World. Those people wouldn't even create World Weapons for Immortals since that wouldn't be profitable for them.

Because of that, the demand for World Weapons for Immortals was several times higher than the demand for World Weapons for Star Gods and higher.

Additionally, all these people were in powerful Sects that probably had their own Forgers.

They wouldn't pay some random, outside Forger if they could get it done cheaper and better in their own Sects.

There was only a single way to earn that much money.

Robbing and killing.

However, if Gravis didn't fight against someone that was a danger to him, his debt would only increase.

In short, Gravis could only earn money from killing people that could also kill him.

Even more, these powerful Cultivators had connections. Their powerful ancestors and teachers could only look on during a normal fight, but Gravis had a Sin Aura now.

There was nothing that would stop these Ancestral Gods!

And even if all of these problems didn't exist, how much money would an enemy of Gravis have?

Gravis' enemies would be level six Star Gods.

First of all, level six Star Gods didn't even exist, probably.

Second, even if they existed, they would, at most, have 100 million God Stones.

Gravis would need to kill over 400 of them!

That equated to 400 temperings!

Gravis loved tempering, but that was too much.

Gravis hadn't even had 100 temperings in his entire life!

If Gravis had tempered himself 400 times, his Will-Aura would have probably already reached the level of his father!

What if he increased his Realm?

Become a level seven Star God or so quickly and fight Ancestral Gods?

He would still need to temper himself 40 times or so!

Lastly, what about the Sin Monsters?

The Sin Monsters would obviously push Gravis into paying back his debt.

Gravis wasn't sure what they would do, but they would probably put Gravis under so much pressure that he was forced to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

Orthar knew exactly what he needed to do to push people forward.

However, how could Gravis even attempt to pay off this unfathomable debt?

Gravis looked with a lost expression at the horizon.

"What do I do?"

Chapter 1117 - 1117 – Support

Gravis was lost.

He had no idea how to solve his crisis.

How was he supposed to get that much money!?

Even if Gravis managed to become an Ancestral God, he would need to fight so many times!

However, Gravis would need a billion God Stones to even become an Ancestral God, and he didn't have that!

Even more, Gravis' Battle-Strength would take a nearly unrecoverable hit.

At that point, even jumping three levels would become insanely difficult.

Gravis' insane Battle-Strength would fall back down to the Battle-Strength geniuses would have.

"What do I do?" Gravis repeated again.

When Stella saw Gravis like this, she almost began crying.

She had never seen Gravis in so much despair.

Gravis had always had a plan.

He always had a goal and knew how to recover if he had problems.

Yet, he was completely helpless right now.

The Sin Monsters would come soon, and Gravis would be hunted and probably slowly ground to dust if the repayment efforts didn't satisfy the Sin Monsters.

However, how was he even supposed to make any headway in repaying his debt!?

"Gravis," Arc said through Gravis' communication ring. "First of all, get away from all your friends. We don't know when the Sin Monsters will arrive. If the Sin Monsters kill your friends, overcoming this tribulation would be pointless!"

Gravis' insides shook with intensity.

Gravis looked at the Myriad Sect.

Everyone inside the Sect was looking with despair at Gravis.

Then, Gravis looked at Stella.

Stella's face transformed into horror.

"No!" Stella shouted. "I will come with you! It doesn't matter if I die! I won't abandon you!"

Gravis' body shook.

Then, tears appeared in Gravis' eyes.

"I'm sorry. I will come back! I promise!"

Stella's expression became even more horrified.

WHOOOM!

Gravis activated his Will-Aura and knocked Stella out.

Then, he hugged the unconscious Stella one last time and threw her into the Myriad Sect.

He couldn't allow her to sacrifice herself for that.

"Gravis!" Manuel shouted. "We will do our best to help you! You're not alone! Even if we can't see you, we will do our best to help you!"

"Yes, we will help you, dad!" Aris shouted in pain.

"Don't give up! We're there for you!" Skye shouted.

The entire Myriad Sect echoed these words.

Everyone was willing to help Gravis.

All of them said that they would do their best to help Gravis.

When Gravis heard all these shouts, he realized that he wasn't alone anymore.

All his friends and companions were there for him.

For a second, Gravis felt happy, even with all this pressure weighing on his shoulders.

He had so many people that were willing to do everything for him.

However, Gravis knew that they couldn't help him.

The debt was just too big.

The Myriad Sect would need to create several Ancestral Gods and then let them fight multiple times. After that, they would need to pool all their earnings together and send them to Gravis.

The most powerful of Gravis' friends had just recently become Star Gods. They had just comprehended their first level seven Law.

In order to become an Ancestral God, they needed to comprehend a level eight Law.

When that happened, Gravis would already have long since died.

Gravis didn't believe that the Sin Monsters would allow him to live for a full million years.

"Thank you," Gravis said.

"See you later," Gravis said with a weak voice.

He didn't mean it.

SHING!

And Gravis teleported away.

He couldn't remain here anymore.

After Gravis left, an oppressive silence came over the Myriad Sect.

Gravis had done so much for them, and they all needed to help him.

Every person in the Myriad Sect was willing to give their best for Gravis.

Gravis was the spiritual pillar of the Myriad Sect!

He was the person that created the Myriad Sect!

How many beings in the upper echelon of the Myriad Sect were alive thanks to him?

Yet, they had never been able to repay him. Gravis had always been a distant target.

Their power had never been able to compare to his.

But now, they could finally help him!

Manuel and the other powerful people of the Myriad Sect narrowed their eyes with battle intent.

They would go through hell for him!

Meanwhile, Gravis was charging in a random direction.

He had to leave the area of the Eternal Fire Sect.

If the Eternal Fire Sect saw a Sin Monster running through their territory, they would kill Gravis to get rid of it.

Gravis activated his Law of Perceived Reality to hide.

It was imperative that no one saw him!

Yet, even the Law of Perceived Reality had its flaws.

It would work on most Ancestral Gods, but what about Divine Gods?

There was a limit to the power of a level seven Law, even if it was part of his Avatar.

Gravis couldn't go to the Teleportation Formation Arrays, which forced him to travel everywhere by himself.

Gravis knew the surroundings, but the surroundings were nothing when compared to the entirety of the highest world.

Gravis would probably need to travel for over a hundred thousand years to get to the edge of the core regions of the highest world.

The size of the highest world was just unreasonable.

"Gravis," Arc said through the communication ring. "You can't pay back the debt in Energy. You need to pay it back in Karmic Luck!"

"And how am I supposed to do that!?" Gravis answered with an angry voice. His emotions were currently going wild, and it was hard for him to remain polite. "Even if I take in a million Peak Immortal Emperors as disciples, how many of them would become Star Gods? How long would it take them!? How am I even supposed to take in disciples if the Sin Monsters will kill everyone close to me!?"

"Gravis, there is always a solution!" Arc answered. "You know exactly that my Creator always gives Cultivators a chance. Not giving you a chance would be far too wasteful. He isn't like that, and you know that."

Gravis gritted his teeth. "Sorry, but I just don't know what I can do."

"Have you forgotten about me?"

Gravis turned around in surprise.

Mortis had appeared behind Gravis.

For a second, Gravis wanted to admonish Mortis for following him. The Sin Monsters would kill everyone around him.

However, Gravis remembered that Mortis was technically his Star.

In the eyes of the world, Mortis was not his own being.

"I can see your Sin Aura," Mortis said. "It took me a while to practice, but I can see it now."

The knowledge of how to see his own Sin Aura entered Gravis' mind, and Gravis looked at himself.

Blood red.

It was like a blood-red domain was around Gravis.

There was a certain coldness around Gravis.

It was like the cold of death was around Gravis.

As soon as Gravis felt his own Sin Aura, he involuntarily got reminded of an event.

Back when Gravis had only been a kid, back when the other Stella had died, Gravis had felt something like that.

When Gravis' father had become angry at Heaven, Gravis had felt something similar.

Back then, it had felt like the cold embrace of death enveloped everything.

Gravis quickly realized that his father obviously also had a Sin Aura, which was logical. After all, his father had killed more Cultivators than anyone else.

Yet, the Sin Monsters didn't dare to touch him.

However, the Opposer's strength was still too far out of reach for Gravis.

"We need to analyze everything and find a way out of this," Mortis said calmly. "You and I are in the same boat. If you die, I die. Your problems are my problems."

"Gravis," Mortis said as he looked at Gravis. "Even though we are emotionally disconnected right now, it's not hard to feel your emotions right now. I know you."

"Your emotions are currently making you blind to the problem laying before you. You need to calm down and become detached."

"Right now, emotions won't help you. Get a clear head and look at everything logically," Mortis said.

Gravis' expression showed some conflict, but he quickly realized that there was no reason to feel conflicted right now.

Due to his past experiences, Gravis felt like becoming completely apathetic would be like running away from his problems.

However, there was a time to be emotional and a time to be emotionless.

Right now, Gravis had to be emotionless.

Gravis took all his Emotional Laws and pushed them towards their apathetic end.

Everything around Gravis became grey as his care for everything that wasn't his own survival vanished.

However, Gravis surprisingly didn't feel nervous.

This wasn't like back when he had been in front of the middle Heaven.

Back then, Gravis knew that he was only delaying the problem.

Back then, Gravis also didn't have very good control over his emotions.

Yet, everything had changed.

Gravis knew the Law of Sentience now, and the Law of Emotions was part of that.

Gravis could freely control the gradient of his emotions, and he knew that he could easily push the gradient back to the empathetic side if he so desired.

Abandoning his emotions would not result in any damage right now.

"Thank you, Mortis," Gravis said with a cold expression.

"No problem," Mortis answered. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but weaknesses can become strengths in certain situations. You are more in tune with your emotions, but that can't help you right now."

"We need to find a solution."

Gravis and Mortis continued flying and teleporting to the distance while trying to come up with a solution to their issue.

They flew for several days, and they had come up with some plans.

Sadly, the plans were unreliable and inefficient.

They had to get more information first.

They needed to know what the Sin Monsters would do and how much time they had.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the two of them quickly got more information very quickly.

A being that looked like a beast, but didn't feel like a beast, had arrived.

It was a Sin Monster.

Chapter 1118 - 1118 – Sin Monster

Gravis immediately knew that it was a Sin Monster, and his body shook when he saw it.

Its appearance wasn't very intimidating, but Gravis felt several things that made a cold shudder run down his spine.

If Gravis hadn't known that the Sin Monsters were coming for him, he wouldn't even have noticed it.

What did it look like?

It was a mosquito, a very small one.

It wasn't even a centimeter tall.

However, the things Gravis felt made this mosquito feel like the end of the world for him.

First of all, Gravis felt that its body was impossibly powerful.

Gravis could feel space warping around it due to its sheer power.

Yet, there was something even worse.

There wasn't a shred of Energy inside it!

It was made of something else.

The Sin Monster was made out of pure Death!

It was a manifestation of the Law of Death!

Gravis knew immediately that he couldn't fight it.

The Sin Monster looked at Gravis from a distance. Gravis and Mortis were still hurrying towards the distance, but the Sin Monster kept a static distance from Gravis.

Gravis couldn't escape.

Gravis and Mortis looked at the Sin Monster with unsure expressions.

It wasn't doing anything.

"Why have you become silent?" Arc asked through Gravis' communication ring. He had been planning with Mortis and Gravis the entire time.

When the mosquito heard Arc's voice, its gaze focused on the communication ring.

Gravis felt some form of sense stretch to the communication ring, and a cold shudder ran down his spine.

BANG!

Gravis destroyed the communication ring!

Gravis didn't know what the Sin Monster could do, but he wouldn't take any chances. What if it could remember Arc's voice or aura? What if it could find Arc via the communication ring?

When the ring was destroyed, the Sin Monster lost interest and looked at Gravis again.

Then, it started to slowly fly towards Gravis.

A shudder ran down Gravis' spine.

He had no idea what the Sin Monster would do. Even more, he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

His life was in the hands of the Sin Monster.

If it wanted to kill him, he would die.

Gravis was not in control of his life right now.

At the side, Mortis gritted his teeth.

Then, Mortis stepped between Gravis and the Sin Monster.

Gravis' mind shook in horror.

However, he understood what Mortis was doing.

Mortis had to try what the Sin Monster would do to him.

As insurance, Mortis had already created a clone.

When the Sin Monster reached Mortis, it simply moved around him. It was like Mortis was just part of the environment.

Mortis moved to Gravis and touched him.

The Sin Monster still ignored him.

Then, Mortis summoned some God Stones and gave them to Gravis.

The Sin Monster still ignored him.

It was like Mortis didn't exist in its mind.

After several more experiments, Mortis knew that he could still help Gravis.

This was valuable input! This meant that Mortis could act as an intermediary between Gravis and the world.

Mortis didn't have a Sin Aura around him since he was only Gravis' Star.

This meant that he wasn't the target of the Sin Monsters, and it also meant that he could interact with Cultivators.

After that, Mortis went back to the Sin Monster and stopped before it.

When the Sin Monster tried to go around Mortis, Mortis moved with it. He remained between the Sin Monster and Gravis.

The Sin Monster continued trying to go around Mortis.

Yet, after a couple of attempts, the Sin Monster stopped trying to go around Mortis.

Instead, it moved towards Mortis.

Mortis gritted his teeth and watched the Sin Monster.

When the Sin Monster reached Mortis' body, it simply created a hole.

Its dense Force of Death canceled out all the Energy along its path. Mortis was made of Heavenly Lightning, but Heavenly Lightning was also made of Energy.

The Sin Monster didn't care what form of Energy was in front of it. Death canceled out all forms of Energy.

The Sin Monster slowly passed through Mortis, leaving a hole behind.

Mortis frowned as he looked at the hole in his torso. The hole had been created with the Law of Death, which meant that it was impossible to heal it without the True Law of Life.

BZZ!

Mortis transformed into Heavenly Lightning and transformed back.

The hole was healed, but Mortis had permanently lost a small part of his Realm.

Mortis knew that he couldn't stop the Sin Monster.

It would do whatever it wanted with Gravis.

Gravis was emotionless right now, but a bit of fear still appeared in his mind.

The Major Law of Emotions wasn't perfect. If it were, it would be the True Law of Emotions.

After some seconds, the Sin Monster reached Gravis' body.

It slowly landed on Gravis' body like a normal mosquito.

Then, its tiny proboscis extended.

There were tiny human teeth at the end of it!

The proboscis reached Gravis' body, and the teeth tore a tiny chunk out of Gravis' body.

When Gravis felt the teeth bite off a part of his body, an unimaginable pain assaulted him.

Gravis had never felt anything like this before!

The pain went throughout Gravis' body, Energy, Spirit, and even went through his will!

A chunk had been bitten out of everything!

Gravis had expected that the Sin Monster would consume a part of his Realm, but he would have never thought that it would even consume a part of his will!

Gravis felt it.

It had bitten a chunk out of Gravis' Will-Aura!

Even Gravis' Will-Aura was weakening!

This horrified Gravis!

He could easily recover his Realm by simply consuming God Stones, but he couldn't recover his Will-Aura without tempering!

Even more, the pain was intense!

Even Gravis had some difficulties in dealing with it, and his Will-Aura was unfathomably powerful!

Gravis moved away and even teleported, but the Sin Monster remained on his body, simply chewing on the part in its mouth.

Gravis couldn't get rid of it, no matter what he did!

"It's worse than we thought," Mortis said with narrowed eyes. "We can consume God Stones to counteract the weakening of our Realm, but it's not easy to recover our Will-Aura. If this takes too long, we might even need to temper ourselves again to reach our old peak."

Gravis could only agree.

"Argh!" Gravis shouted as the mosquito took another bite.

The pain was just as bad as before!

Gravis could deal with pain normally. After all, the worse the pain, the more his Will-Aura would increase.

However, this was different.

Every instance of pain didn't strengthen his Will-Aura but weakened it.

There was nothing positive about this pain.

Nothing.

Every instance of pain drove Gravis further to weakness and death.

He was like an old man with a painful, terminal illness.

There was only a painful death waiting for him.

It was like Gravis was decaying.

He was vanishing.

"Maybe we can delay our weakening by giving it God Stones," Mortis suggested.

Gravis agreed and took out about 100,000 God Stones.

Sure enough, as soon as the God Stones appeared, the Sin Monster looked at the God Stones.

CRACK!

Its proboscis enlarged and engulfed all God Stones in an instant. It had been so fast that Gravis had barely seen it!

"Argh!" Gravis shouted again as the Sin Monster took another bite out of him.

The God Stones hadn't even distracted it for a second!

Now, Gravis knew why everyone feared the Sin Monsters.

The bites the mosquito was taking out of Gravis were incomparably tiny. The Sin Monster itself was already incredibly small, and its proboscis was even smaller! The bites it took couldn't even be measured in millimeters. They had to be measured in micrometers!

Yet, every single bite symbolized agony and a decline in strength.

At least there was one positive thing about all of this.

Mortis and Gravis now knew more about the Sin Monster, and they could act accordingly.

For the next few days, Mortis and Gravis continued planning, but the entire atmosphere had changed.

Every minute, Gravis received another terrifying instance of agony.

Dealing with intense pain for a short moment was entirely different from feeling sharp instances of pain again and again.

Gravis already felt his resistance to the pain reducing.

Some days of planning passed, and Gravis and Mortis had already come up with what they should do.

However, something horrifying happened.

The mosquito's body shook a bit.

Then, its body seemed to stretch until something came out of its body.

Gravis' eyes widened in horror.

A second mosquito was on his body now!

Chapter 1119 - 1119 – Glimpse

Gravis looked with horror at the new mosquito.

One Sin Monster was already painful enough, but now there were two!?

Gravis immediately felt the terrifying pain of the new bite. Even worse, the Sin Monsters seemed to bite in an alternating pattern, giving Gravis double the instances of pain.

He would have preferred for them to do it simultaneously.

Mortis looked solemnly at the new mosquito. "I don't believe that this is normal," he said.

"What do you mean?" Gravis asked, his voice shaking slightly. His mind wasn't in the best of shape. Otherwise, he would have noticed the same thing.

"It's too fast," Mortis said. "If they keep doubling, you will die in less than a century. That's not a reasonable timeframe to deal with your Sin Aura. If they keep doubling, this would be a death sentence."

"However, I can imagine one getting added every week. With this, it would take the Sin Monsters around 10,000 years to fully consume you," Mortis said.

"That's still too short!" Gravis said with a nervous voice.

"There may be a way to slow them down," Mortis said. "These Sin Monsters exist to push you towards paying back your debt. I guess that the more you pay back, the slower they multiply."

"How can we test it?" Gravis asked nervously. Usually, Gravis would have found a way himself, but the pain was making it nearly impossible for him to focus.

Right now, Gravis fully relied on Mortis' mind.

"We need to wait for the next addition," Mortis said. "We need to check if the time has shortened."

"Shortened? How? Why?" Gravis asked.

"You fed the Sin Monster 100,000 God Stones earlier. If this counts towards your payback, the last multiplication should have already been a delayed one. Now, we need to see what happens when you don't give it anything," Mortis explained.

Gravis took a deep breath. "Okay. I don't like it, but we need more information."

Gravis and Mortis continued planning, but Mortis got an interesting thought a couple of minutes later.

"Sin Monsters are made of pure Death, right?" Mortis said. "Their nature is also very different from beasts or humans. Instead of killing you directly, they simply slowly consume you and put you in as much pain as possible."

"Yes, I noticed," Gravis said. "What about it?"

"We could assign that behavior to Heaven, but it should also be similar to something else, according to the information we have heard," Mortis said.

Gravis wasn't sure what Mortis meant, but his mind quickly made a connection.

"Father's Cosmos," Gravis said.

Mortis nodded. "From what we've heard, father's Cosmos is made of sheer brutality and a war between Death and Energy. Apparently, there is a way to harness brutality to create incredible force."

"Look at them," Mortis said as he gestured to the Sin Monsters. "They don't use Laws. They don't have feelings. They only have powerful bodies. Yet, is their body the only thing that makes them so incredibly powerful that even Divine Gods fear them? I'm not sure how powerful Divine Gods are, but I don't think that their power is that simple."

Gravis looked at the mosquitos. He didn't want to look at them since it was a terrifying feeling to watch something gnawing on one's body.

"I don't think that's everything," Mortis added. "Maybe the pain it is inflicting on you is increasing its power. Have you ever thought about that?"

Gravis couldn't test the hypothesis, but he could imagine that.

"Maybe the more pain and terror this beast inflicts on others, the more powerful it becomes. It's even absorbing your Will-Aura. Eventually, when your Will-Aura has been emptied, you will also have no will anymore. At that point, you would be just like someone that has died to Samsara."

"Wouldn't the beast then have squeezed every bit of anguish and pain out of you? This would be the eventual logical conclusion, and it would also explain how a more powerful target would be more useful. Being more powerful means having a stronger will, which means that more will and sorrow can be extracted out of the victim."

"The Sin Monster would probably be happy when you went through another form of tempering. It would only mean that it would have even more to consume," Mortis explained.

Gravis' mind started going to a dark place.

Gravis was imagining his father's Cosmos.

What did it look like?

Gravis imagined a world filled with monsters with indescribable appearances. Some of them may only be a walking mouth. Some of them might be tentacles filled with eyes. Some might be made of several human corpses that fused to create a larger monster.

Even more, Gravis imagined parasites like the Sin Monster littering these monsters. These monsters might be too stupid to realize that the parasites were even on their bodies.

Yet, the monsters would still feel the unreal pain, which would make them even more aggressive. They would attack absolutely everything and might even consume their own body in hatred and pain.

The number of deaths in such a world would be insane, which would require an equally fast method of reproduction.

Maybe some monster made out of mouths simply spat out a smaller version of itself, which would run into the distance to eat other young?

Maybe the ground of the world was covered by a mass of small, continually battling monsters that kept consuming everything around them.

However, that would probably only cover the Death side of the Cosmos.

On the other side, Gravis could imagine humans and beasts living together.

Humans and beasts probably wouldn't even fight each other since they needed their entire power to resist the Death part of the Cosmos.

The Opposer's power came from the balance of Death and Energy in his world.

If Death were eradicated and only Energy survived, the Opposer's power would fall significantly, which would result in Orthar killing him.

If Energy were eradicated and only Death survived, the Opposer would die. The Opposer was a being made of Energy, and if only Death filled him, he couldn't exist.

This meant that the war had to rage on indefinitely.

Even more, the different forces in the Opposer's Cosmos probably also had to be dealt with. If a large area were entirely made of Death, its influence might consume all the little pockets of Energy near it, which would make it grow exponentially.

This meant that the Death areas and Energy areas had to be distributed over many small areas.

'This would be hell!' Gravis thought. 'However, this would be completely plausible.'

'Luckily, I haven't been born into my father's Cosmos. It's ironic that I would prefer a place that Orthar created over a place father created.'

After these thoughts passed, Gravis focused on dealing with the pain again.

It was very difficult for Gravis to deal with the pain, but he had to persevere. Sadly, he couldn't get used to it, no matter what he did. Every single bite was just as bad as the first one. It was like the ability Gravis used to dissociate from the pain didn't work on the Sin Monsters.

Luckily, or unluckily, Gravis didn't have to wait for long.

One day later, a third mosquito appeared.

Gravis gritted his teeth while Mortis' eyes shone.

Chapter 1120 - 1120 – Last Tests

"It worked," Mortis said. "The 100,000 God Stones have bought you six days the last time. We can delay it."

"Great, how do we continue?" Gravis asked while sweat ran down his back. As time progressed, it only became worse.

"We need to test something else," Mortis said. "Become a level two Star God."

Gravis looked with shock at Mortis. "That would eat up over three million God Stones!" Gravis shouted.

"You're really becoming stupider when under pain," Mortis commented in annoyance.

"You try being in my place! It's not easy to focus with fucking Sin Monsters munching on your fucking will!" Gravis shouted.

Mortis didn't react to Gravis' comment. "If you are a level two Star God, the Sin Monsters might need longer to consume the pieces they eat. They are probably consuming a set amount of Energy, which will increase with time."

"Right now, one Sin Monster needs one minute to take another bite. If you are a level two Star God, they might need four minutes to take another bite," Mortis explained.

Gravis immediately understood and took out more God Stones.

This would make the pain less frequent!

Gravis quickly consumed enough God Stones to become a level two Star God. Gravis felt his power increasing, but he couldn't feel happy right now.

As soon as the Sin Monsters took their first bite, they started chewing.

And…

Success!

They took four times as long to take another bite.

Gravis released a sigh of relief.

It was impossible to imagine how much relief Gravis felt at this moment.

The bites were truly terrifying.

Mortis nodded. "Consume another million God Stones for another test. Then, feed the Sin Monsters your remaining God Stones."

Gravis had already realized that it was hard for him to make correct decisions under such pain. His Emotions were on the apathetic side, but that didn't protect him from the pain.

Because of that, Gravis decided to simply listen to Mortis.

Right now, Mortis was the one that had a clearer head.

The first Sin Monster ate the 16 million God Stones in an instant before going back to consuming Gravis.

"We need to do three more tests," Mortis said. "First of all, we need to check if the Sin Monsters allow absolutely no one to help you or if they will only stop the powerful Cultivators. After all, the best way to repay the debt is to accrue more Karmic Luck, and that's basically impossible to do if you can't interact with anyone."

"How should I test that?" Gravis asked.

"Wait here. I'll scout the surroundings," Mortis said.

SHING!

Mortis left, and Gravis was left alone.

Gravis activated his Law of Perceived Reality and tried to keep himself hidden. Until now, Mortis had kept the two of them hidden since every bite Gravis endured shook his concentration violently.

Essentially, every time Gravis received a bite, his domain of Perceived Reality would break down for a second.

Luckily, Gravis was in a very isolated area right now, and no powerful Cultivators passed by.

Some minutes later, Mortis returned and gestured for Gravis to follow.

Gravis and Mortis teleported a couple of times until they were near a Sect.

It was a Sect with a Peak Immortal Emperor as the Sect Master. However, the Sect had an unreal number of disciples, and they all had different Realms.

Mortis disguised Gravis and made himself invisible.

"Interact with a Body Tempering Cultivator. Try to make a trade or something," Mortis said.

Gravis took a deep breath and entered the Sect.

No disciple seemed to react to him. In their minds, Gravis looked like a very normal disciple.

"Hey, you," Gravis shouted as he pointed at a Body Tempering Disciple that just left the exchange hall with a frustrated expression.

"Huh?" the disciple uttered as he turned to Gravis.

In the disciple's mind, Gravis wore the robes of someone in the Spirit Forming Realm, and the disciple immediately became respectful. "This disciple greets Spirit Forming Elder."

Gravis nodded respectfully, trying his best to hide the pain of the bites.

"That Moon-Glowing Anis is something one of my disciple needs. I'm willing to exchange it for this," Gravis said.

WHOOOP!

Gravis simply created an ore that was used for weapons in the Energy Gathering Realm. With all of Gravis' Laws, creating something like this was easier than breathing.

The eyes of the disciple widened in shock.

His mere Moon-Glowing Anis was far less valuable than this piece of ore!

"I can't take advantage of Elder!" the disciple shouted respectfully.

"Nonsense!" Gravis said with a snort. "I need it, and that makes it worth the trade for me. I don't care about this mere piece of ore."

The disciple became exhilarated and quickly chose to trade with Gravis.

When Gravis held the flower in his hand, he looked at the mosquitos on his body.

They didn't react.

Gravis took a deep breath and vanished from the disciple's reality.

The disciple immediately forgot his meeting with Gravis and continued doing whatever he was doing. He only knew that he had a piece of ore. He didn't know why he had it, but it was only natural for him to have it.

The same thing repeated itself many other times with Cultivators of different Realms.

Yet, at some point, things changed.

As soon as an Immortal Elder started to hand Gravis a piece of ore she found, one of the mosquitos looked at her.

Silence.

The Immortal Elder stopped existing.

The entire Energy that comprised her being was canceled out with Death.

Like a mathematical equation equal on both sides, her existence was reduced to zero.

Gravis and Mortis immediately teleported away since their tests were finished.

"So, you can interact with beings below the Immortal Realm. Anything above that, and the Sin Monster gets angry," Mortis said.

Gravis gritted his teeth. "That makes things way harder. I need Star Gods, but I can't even interact with Immortals. That means that I have to become the master of Law Comprehension Cultivators and hope that they can become Star Gods. That's ridiculous!"

"Quantity over quality," Mortis said as he scratched his chin. "We need to test the next thing."

"Transform into lightning. I want to see what happens," Mortis said.

Gravis took a deep breath.

This could severely anger the Sin Monsters, and they might kill him in one attack.

However, if it worked, Gravis could heal himself from their damage.

BZZ!

Gravis transformed into Heavenly Lightning.

The Sin Monsters left Gravis' body and only looked at the Heavenly Lightning in front of him.

Then, when one of them was finished with munching, it simply took a bite out of the lightning and continued chewing.

Gravis transformed back, and the three mosquitos went back on his body.

It had changed nothing, but this was good news!

The tiny holes the mosquitos had created had vanished!

Mortis nodded. "The situation doesn't seem as inescapable now," he commented.

"Last test, Lightning Fork," Mortis said. "If that also works, our best plan can be put into motion."

Gravis nodded.

"Do it like you've done it with the disciples," Mortis added. "Go from weak to strong."

BZZ!

Gravis summoned a Body Tempering body and kept it levitating with his Spirit.

Splash!

"Whoops," Gravis said. "I accidentally used too much force."

The body had been ground into nothing.

"Just try a Unity Realm body then," Mortis said.

"Oh, smart idea!" Gravis said.

BZZZ!

A Unity Realm body appeared, and the Sin Monsters didn't react.

"Try a Law Comprehension body," Mortis said.

BZZZ!

A Law Comprehension body appeared beside Gravis, and nothing happened.

"Wanna try an Immortal body?" Mortis asked.

Gravis gritted his teeth.

"I have to!" Gravis said.

BZZZ!

Gravis created an Immortal body.

As soon as the mosquitos noticed the body, the first mosquito shook.

Plop!

A fourth mosquito came out and hung onto Gravis' clone.

And then…

Hell!

The mosquito bit at Gravis with unreal speed!

It was taking so many bites per second!

The faces of all the Gravises whitened in terror and pain, and the Immortal Gravis immediately exploded.

This avalanche of bites had been the most painful thing Gravis had ever felt in his entire life!

The Gravises all shook in terror and pain.

The fourth mosquito saw that the Gravis had vanished, and it went to Gravis' main body.

Now, there was a fourth Sin Beast on Gravis' body.

However, Gravis couldn't focus on that.

Why?

Because Gravis had just seen his future.

When the mosquitoes multiplied more times, this would be his future.

He would have to endure that until everything was over.

Gravis looked at Mortis with a horrified expression.

"We need to do something!"